Parts holder for tape wrapping machine

ABSTRACT

In a machine for wrapping unsintered polytetrafluoroethylene tape around threaded recessed plugs or the like, a turret-type feed mechanism for the plugs which is designed to provide flexibility in the holder for the plugs so that if the machine and plug are not concentric, the holder will yield universally to allow the plug to follow the machine gyrations.

United States Patent l l I Inventor Egons Inka Chicago, Ill.

Appl. No. 773,456

Filed Nov. 5, I968 Patented June 1, I971 Assignee Crane Packing Company Morton Grove, Ill.

PARTS HOLDER FOR TAPE WRAPPING MACHINE 8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl

Int. Cl B23q 5/22, B65h 81/02 Field of Search 269/57, 71,

73; 242/68, 106; 156/489, 552, 29/lnquired; 2 l4/Inquired [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 327,022 9/1885 Ross 242/106X 2,787,826 4/1957 Aronson. 269/71 3,398,678 8/1968 Usko 269/57X FOREIGN PATENTS 82,349 1 H1956 Denmark 242/106 Primary Examiner-Lester M. Swingle Attorney-Charles F. Voytech ABSTRACT: In a machine for wrapping unsintered polytetrafluoroethylene tape around threaded recessed plugs or the like, a turret-type feed mechanism for the plugs which is designed to provide flexibility in the holder for the plugs so that if the machine and plug are not concentric, the holder will yield universally to allow the plug to follow the machine gyratrons.

'PATENTED JUN H971 3,582,061

fi s. Z

Fla 4 /N VEN r02 590225 Jnka tered polytetrafluoroethylene tape around the threads of pipes, fittings, plugs, etc., in which the article to be wrapped is held by the operator between rollers which are mounted on a rotatable deck along with a supply of the tape. The rollers are pressed against the tape and threads with considerable force. When short threaded articles are to be tape-wrapped there is very little of the article available by which it can be held so that there is a possibility that the fingers of the operator will be pinched by the rollers.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a holder for short threaded articles to be tape-wrapped, said holder being easy and safe to use.

In the aforesaid machine, the rollers may not be concentrically arranged with respect to the axis of rotation of the support for the rollers, so that a wobbling motion is given to the article to be wrapped as the operation proceeds.

It is another object of this invention to provide a holder for short articles to be tape-wrapped wherein the article is firmly but flexibly held so that it can follow the gyrations of the rollers between which it is held.

As a more specific object this invention has within its purview the provision of a turret-type holder for short articles while they are being wrapped with tapewherein the portion of the holder contacting the article can be interchanged with other such portions to make it possible to use the holder with a variety of shapes and sizes of articles.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is an elevational view in section of the holder in operative position;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the holder in inoperative position;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the holder; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the adapter for the holder.

Referring now to the drawings for a more detailed description of the embodiment shown therein, the lower front comer of the frame or cabinet Id in which the tape wrapping mechanism is housed has secured to it a hinge II to which may be spot welded, or otherwise secured, a bracket I2. ln the form chosen to illustrate this invention, bracket 12 is comprised of a flat metal strip in unsymmetrical U-form, one leg I3 of the U making an acute angle with the base 14 of the U and the opposite leg making an obtuse angle with said base I4. The angles are such that as shown in FIG. I, when the device of this invention is in operative position, leg I5 is substantially horizontal, and when the device of this invention is in inoperative position as shown in FIG. 2, leg I3 is horizontal, the latter preferably resting upon a bench or table top I6 in such position.

The article to be wrapped with tape in the machine is shown as a bolt I7, and during the tape wrapping operation it is held between rollers I8 which are suitably mounted on a rotatable platen I9 so as to planetate about bolt I7. The tape is shown at 20, and is supplied from a roll 21 also appropriately mounted on platen I9 by means not shown, so as to be movable therewith about the bolt 17.

The hexagonal head of bolt 17 is received in a socket 22, the opening in which is hexagonally shaped to receive the similarly shaped head of the bolt and hold it against rotation relative to said socket. The latter is in turn secured to a hexagonal holder 23, either by a setscrew, or by a spring detent 43 after the fashion of the well-known socket wrench. A similar spring detent is also used to hold the bolt head in the socket.

It is contemplated that a plurality of such holders323 will be provided, said holders being arranged to extend spoke fashion from a hub 24 mounted on a support 25 rotatably secured to leg 15 of bracket 12. Thus each holder 23 (FIGS. 11 and 4) has a reduced end 26 disposed in a radial recess 27 in hub 24 and secured'thereto by a setscrew 28. While one bolt is being processed another one can be inserted into a socket 22 so that when the processed bolt is removed from between the rollers I3, hub 24 may be rotated to present the unprocessed bolt to the rollers and the one that has been wrapped can be removed from its socket.

The rotation of the hub is effected by allowing support 25 to rotate, and to this end said support which, for convenience, may be cylindrical at its upper end 29 and conical at its lower end 30, has an opening 3I through the conical portion adjacent to which is a first counterbore 32 followed by a second counterbore 33. A shoulder screw 34 extends through opening 31 and through an appropriate opening in leg I5 of bracket I2, the protruding end of screw 34 being securely fastened to leg I5 by a nut 35. The location of the shoulder on shoulder screw 34 is such as to permit support 25 to rotate about said screw as.

Since rollers I8 may not be spaced with sufficient accuracy to hold bolt 17 concentric with respect to the axis of socket 22 when the bolt is in its normal processing position, a certain flexibility must be provided in the support 25 for the hub 24, so that the latter may change its position relative to support 25 to confonn the position of socket 22 relative to rollers 18. If there is some wobble in the rollers, then socket 22 must likewise be permitted to wobble.

The required flexibility in the support for hub 24 is provided by a cylindrical block 36 of rubber, or similar resilient deformable material which is disposed in counterbore 33. Said block as is preferably slightly compressed in said counterbore in a radial direction and is held in said bore against movement outwardly therefrom by a washer 37 retained in said counterbore by a snapring 33. Block 36 has a central opening through which passes a bolt 39, said bolt being secured to said block by a nut It? and locknut 411. Said bolt 39 also passes through a central opening in hub 24 and the latter is secured against locknut II by a nut 42.

Thus bolt 39 is mounted entirely in rubber which is resilient and compressible and therefore bolt 39 may move axially or radially, or with a wobbling motion, relative to support 25. Such motion of bolt 39 can therefore accommodate similar movement of hub 24, holder 23, and socket 22. Furthermore, it may be remembered that hinge II also provides l of movement of support 25 relative to frame It), to supplement the flexibility provided by block 36.

To operate the holder of this invention, loading and unloading of the sockets 22 may be done simultaneously from different holders, or it may be done sequentially from one holder.

Due to the short time required to wrap a bolt, which may not be sufficient to permit loading and unloading, these operations can best be performed while the holder is in the position shown in FIG. 2. In this position, leg I3 of the bracket 12 rests upon the bench top 16, and socket 22, with its bolt 17, clears the rollers I8 so that hub 24l may be rotated to remove a wrapped bolt from the machine and to present a bolt to be wrapped to the rollers 18. The exact point at which loading and unloading of the sockets is effected, depends entirely upon the operator of the machine and what he considers to be the fastest and most efficient way to accomplish these operations. When a bolt to be wrapped is lined up with rollers I3, hub 23 and its support 25 are swung about hinge II to bring the bolt I7 into position between rollers I8.

Should it be required to wrap some other threaded device such as a pipe plug having either a square recess or a squarehead, holders 23 are replaced with appropriately shaped and sized holders to fit the plugs, and the device is then used as before. Obviously, special holders may be designated for any threaded article to be wrapped or processed in a machine of the type described.

Inasmuch as hexagonal holders 23 are already supplied with spring detents 43, it is possible to mount plugs and other similarly recessed articles directly on the end of holders 23, and in such cases, sockets 22 can be dispensed with. As a further variant, it has been found that four holders spaced b 90 apart are sufficient for any given article. Hub 24 may therefore be formed with radially disposed openings 44 (FIG. 3) disposed between recesses 27, which may be of a size and configuration to accept other forms of holders for other articles, thus making one hub serve for two different forms of holders.

Other variations upon the design described above will sug gest themselves to those skilled in the art and it is therefore understood that the scope of this invention is not to be limited to the embodiment illustrated, but is to be determined by the appended claims.

lclaim:

1. A holder for articles to be processed by a rotating device, said holder comprising a hub, means on the hub for supporting an article to be processed, a rotatable support for the hub to enable the hub to present successive articles to said rotating device, means for supporting said rotatable support for oscillating movement to and from said rotating device to move said articles toward and away from said device, and resilient means intermediate the article supporting means and the oscillatable support for providing limited universal movement for said hub 2. A holder as described in claim 1, said resilient means comprising a block of resilient deformable material having an opening therein, a fastener secured to the block and extending out of said block, and means securing said hub to said fastener.

3. A holder as described in claim 1, said means for supporting said support for oscillating movement comprising a hinge.

4. A holder as described in claim 1, said means for supporting said rotatable support for oscillating movement comprising a bracket, and a hinge secured to the bracket, said bracket having a leg for supporting said holder in its position away from said rotating device.

5. A holder as described in claim 4, said bracket comprising a metal strip bent into the form of an unsymmetrical "U," said leg for supporting said holder comprising one of the legs of the U" and said rotatable support being connected to the other leg of the "U.

6. A holder as described in claim 1, said hub having radially disposed recesses therein, said means on the hub for supporting an article to be processed comprising rods removably secured in said recesses.

7. A holder as described in claim 1, said hub having radially disposed recesses therein, said means on the hub for supporting an article to be processed comprising sockets adapted to receive and hold an end of said article and rods removably secured at one end in said recesses and secured at their other ends to said sockets.

8. A holder as described in claim 1, said hub having recesses disposed in the periphery thereof, said means on the hub for supporting an article to be processed comprising rods removably secured in said recesses, and spring detent means on the rods for releasably holding the article to be processed. 

1. A holder for articles to be processed by a rotating device, said holder comprising a hub, means on the hub for supporting an article to be processed, a rotatable support for the hub to enable the hub to present successive articles to said rotating device, means for supporting said rotatable support for oscillating movement to and from said rotating device to move said articles toward and away from said device, and resilient means intermediate the article supporting means and the oscillatable support for providing limited universal movement for said hub.
 2. A holder as described in claim 1, said resilient means comprising a block of resilient deformable material having an opening therein, a fastener secured to the block and extending out of said block, and means securing said hub to said fastener.
 3. A holder as described in claim 1, said means for supporting said support for oscillating movement comprising a hinge.
 4. A holder as described in claim 1, said means for supporting said rotatable support for oscillating movement comprising a bracket, and a hinge secured to the bracket, said bracket having a leg for supporting said holder in its position away from said rotating device.
 5. A holder as described in claim 4, said bracket comprising a metal strip bent into the form of an unsymmetrical ''''U,'''' said leg for supporting said holder comprising one of the legs of the ''''U'''' and said rotatable support being connected to the other leg of the ''''U.''''
 6. A holder as described in claim 1, said hub having radially disposed recesses therein, said means on the hub for supporting an article to be processed comprising rods removably secured in said recesses.
 7. A holder as described in claim 1, said hub having radially disposed recesses therein, said means on the hub for supporting an article to be processed comprising sockets adapted to receive and hold an end of said article and rods removably secured at one end in said recesses and secured at their other ends to said sockets.
 8. A holder as described in claim 1, said hub having recesses disposed in the periphery thereof, said means on the hub for supporting an article to be processed comprising rods removably secured in said recesses, and spring detent means on the rods for releasably holding the article to be processed. 